"Golden visas" is a term that refers to visas where a High net Worth (HNW) individual can fast-track to permanent residency in a country in exchange for a huge investment.
The UK's "Golden Visa" is the Tier 1 Investor Visa. In recent years, there has been controversy about the Tier 1 (investor) because of the possible money-laundering. This caused the Home Office to reform the rules in an attempt to tackle finance crime.
Wealthy individuals must invest a minimum of £2million in UK businesses and prove that they or their spouse have legitimate access to the funds if held less than 2 years. In addition, investment of government bonds is no longer classed as a qualifying investment under the Rules. The bigger the investment, the sooner the HNW individual can apply for settlement:
£10 million – can apply for settlement after 2 years
£5 million – can apply for settlement after 3 years
£2 million – can apply for settlement after 5 years
Not only there may be concerns of source of funds, but also the issue of tax needs to be carefully considered before embarking on this visa route. Securing legal advice (tax and immigration) in advance will increase the chances of successfully obtaining a UK visa which will lead to permanent residency.
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